Kenya Moving into the Future

My dad once told me he thought it fitting that it takes a day or two (depending on airport layovers) to travel to East Africa.

After all, once you step off that plane, he told me, you it is as if you have arrived on another planet.

Everything
you can possibly imagine – language, dress, food, basic infrastructure
– is different in East Africa compared to here in Manitoba.

As
soon as you enter the destination airport, the air even smells
different and, as I breathed in that cool Nairobi air over eight months
ago, there was no doubt in my mind that I had arrived (again).

You
may remember the articles I wrote back in 2005 for this publication,
which followed my time working with rural youth and women in the Mwanza
region of Tanzania, in collaboration with Brandon University and the
Marquis Project.

Now, nearly five years later, I have just
returned from Kenya, where I spent six months working with the
Federation of Women Groups (FWG), a national non-profit organization
working to improve the opportunities and lives for women and youth.

Most of the funding that FWG receives goes towards the implementation of initiatives in Nyanza Province, in Southwestern Kenya.

The
organization was started in the town of Nyamira and, even with
decreasing funding opportunities from government and international
sources, it has continued to play a major role in the area, especially
with the events leading up to the recent referendum on the new proposed
Constitution.

This volunteer work was part of the degree I am
currently completing in Women’s & Gender Studies and Conflict
Resolution Studies from the University of Winnipeg, in association with
Menno Simons College.

The Republic of Kenya is located off the coast of the Indian Ocean, bordering Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania.

Kenya
is well known for being one of the major safari destinations in Africa,
as well as for producing activist Wangari Maathai, who was the first
African woman, and first environmentalist, to be awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 2004.

Kenya borders the Eastern shores of Lake
Victoria, the third largest fresh water lake in the world, land of the
Luo ethnic group, which has now become the famous site of U.S.
President Obama’s “family home.”

Kenya made its way into news headlines when violent conflict broke out there after disputed election results in 2007.

The clashes left about 1,200 Kenyans dead and hundreds of thousands internally displaced.

This
was followed by a power-sharing agreement between the two main
political parties, under the supervision of former UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan, and a new push for reforms in political processes and
institutions.

The foundation for these reforms would be
realized with the passing of a newly amended Constitution, changes for
which Kenyans have been fighting for a generation.

Those
leading the “Yes” Campaigns included not just the President and Prime
Minister, but women’s organizations, various minority groups, and civil
society groups pushing for increased access to political participation
for Kenyan citizens.

On August 4th, just last month, Kenyans
voted 65% to implement the proposed new Constitution, which includes a
complete overhaul of sections relating to a free and democratic system
of government, human rights and gender equality, culture and
citizenship, and the Bill of Rights.

I was lucky to have
the opportunity to attend many of the meetings and events, along with
representatives of my women’s organization, as part of the
constitutional debate and leading up to the vote.

After the
results were in, President Mwai Kibaki began the official process of
implementing new legislation and regulations across the country.

Those
heading the “No” Campaigns, many of whom were national church leaders
and political heavyweights, have publicly announced that they accept
the results of the referendum and will work within the new system.

Though
for now all appears well and the process of social reforms is moving
forward, I am concerned about that other number which I have not yet
specifically mentioned: that 35% who voted against the changes to the
Constitution.

That number represents a huge rift in the
country that continues to cross borders of language, religion,
ethnicity and political affiliation.

Even if the country
continues to discuss and debate these contentious issues – land
ownership, freedom of religion, human rights – in a democratic way and
without violence, as we all believe it can, it may take another
generation for conflicts between groups to be alleviated in any
meaningful way.

I have been told by my Kenyan friends and
colleagues that the inter-group meetings taking place after the
referendum will be the beginning of a slow and rigorous process.

But,
they tell me, it will be worth it in the end, and they can’t wait to
see how the future leaders of Kenya, and indeed all citizens, will move
the country forward.

ZoŽ
Gross is a university student who has just returned from almost eight
months in East Africa and is a daughter of regular Small World
columnist
Zack Gross.